Ivano-Frankivsk to Light Its Main Christmas Tree on 5 December

Ivano-Frankivsk will light its main Christmas tree on 5 December, the eve of St Nicholas Day, on the central alley of Shevchenko Park. It's the same 18-metre tree as last year: 8 metres in diameter, with 3D illumination. The city isn't buying a new one this year, according to Mykhailo Smushak, head of the city council's infrastructure department.

Mayor Ruslan Martsinkiv confirmed on Facebook that the tree will again stand in Shevchenko Park and promised to combine the celebration with a fundraiser for the Armed Forces. So coming to the lighting is not only about the lights, but also a chance to do something useful together with the city.

Why last year's tree

Last year the artificial tree cost the city UAH 550,000 and the lighting UAH 750,000. Buying everything anew every year would be odd, so Frankivsk is simply taking out what it already has. Honestly, it makes the tree no less festive: 18 metres of light in the evening park look just as magical as the first time.

The date suits a weekend trip: 5 December is a Saturday, and the 6th is St Nicholas Day. Arrive on Saturday, see the tree lit, and on Sunday stroll around the centre at your own pace. Be sure to visit the Town Hall at 4a Halytska St. Completed in 1932 and 49.5 metres tall, it now houses the local history museum, open from 10:00 to 17:30 and closed on Mondays.

The central alley of Shevchenko Park with the tree is a natural start to a December evening. The lights are hard to leave, but the old centre is close by — so the evening easily continues with a walk through the city when everything is already glowing.

If you're travelling with children, plan to be in town on the morning of 6 December: on St Nicholas Day you'll want the present to turn up under the pillow, even in a hotel. And on the evening of the 5th — the tree, the first lights and the feeling that winter has finally begun.

Sources: Suspilne Ivano-Frankivsk; my.ua.

Photo: Yevhen Stienin / Unsplash.